Sluice gate



Ap 1952 w. J. BOWTELL SLUICE GATE Filed Jan. 6, 1948 3 Sheets-Sheet 1Inventor Wi fiam JEowfeJ/ By 7 Mafia A llorney April 1952 w. J. BOWTELL2,593,969

SLUICE GATE Filed Jan. 6, 1948 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Inventor Allomey April22, 1952 w. J. BOWTELL 2,593,969

SLUICE GATE Filed Jan. 6, 1948 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Inventor /////am gawfeflllurney Patented Apr. 22, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT reins 2,593,969William Johjli'fjiley, England Application January 6, 1948, Serial No.695 In Great Britain January .14, 1947 This invention relates to sluicegates of what may be termed the vertically sliding type in which a waterretaining curtain extends across a channel between two piers ofabutments, the curtain being movable up and down to open and close thechannel and being mounted at its sides in guides in or on the piers.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved form ofcurtain and mounting for a sluice gate of this type, which is simple andcheap to manufacture.

According to the invention, in a sluice gate of the type specified thecurtain is constitutedby a relatively thin plate or sheet which iscurved about a vertical axis in the form of part of a circular cylinder,with its convex surface in the downstream direction, It is desirablethat the curved surface of the curtain should subtend an angle ofbetween about 90 and about 180 at its vertical axis, and in a preferredform the curtain is substantially semi-cylindrical.

The curtain may be likened to a section of a vertical boiler shell ortank, and it will be appreciated that when it is retainingwater it besubjected mainly to tensile stresses. Thus the present invention is notto be confused with known sluice gates in which a curved curtain isemployed, the curvature being convex in the upstream direction. Suchcurtains are subjected mainly to compressive stresses, and must be rigidand robustly made. In contradistinction to such known gates, with asluice gate according to the present invention the pressure of the waterwill tend to force the curtain into and retain it in the desired curvedform. Thus transverse bracing or stifiening will usually be unnecessaryalthough some light transverse bracing or stiffening members may be usedin some instances without departing from this invention. The absence ofbracing or stiffening members facilitates periodical attentions suchasscraping and painting, and provides a light and simple structure forwhich extreme accuracy of manufacture is not essential. It also reducesor eliminates places in which silt and the like can lodge.

Above water level it may be desirable to install some form of transversemember, for example to provide a footway across the channel. This membermay conveniently coincide with the points of suspension of the curtain,by which the curtain is raised and lowered, and which may be locatedvertically above or slightly downstream or upstream of the centre ofgravity of '12 Claims. (CI. 51-28) 2 a suitable sill, and stanchingmeans, for example an' adjustable rubber strip, may be provided aroundthis bottom edge.

The sides of the curtain may be supported in the guides in any suitablemanner, for instance in one class of support each side of the curtain isattached to or is integral with a mounting which is adapted to besupported by the guide at a position outwardly spaced from the side ofthe curtain against movement in a downstream direction eithersubstantially parallel to the general direction of flow through thechannel or diverging therefrom by an angle of up to about and also so asto resist the turning efifect on the mounting of the thrust on thecurtain. The part of the mounting supported by the guide which takes themain downstream load is preferably spaced from another part which takesthe turning load.

An effect of inclining the main downstream support so that the mountingis supported against movement in a direction diverging from thegeneraldirection of flow in the channel is to transmit the main thruston the mounting due to the pressure of water on the curtain towards theinterior of the pier.

It is desirable that the line of action of the thrust imparted to themounting by the curtain should pass through or near to the intersectionof the lines of action of the forces through the parts of the mountingsupported by the guide, so that side thrusts at the points of supportbetween the mounting and the guide will be as small as possible.

It will be understood that the mounting may be supported in the guide ina number or" different ways; by corresponding sliding surfaces on themounting and on the guide, by Wheels carried by axles on either themounting or the guide and running on tracks or rails on the othermember, by rollers running between tracks or rails on the mounting andon the guide, or by a combination of these devices.

'When a wheel is referred to herein it is intended to indicate that theload which it supports is taken by or transmitted through an axle,while. a roller is intended to mean that the load which it supports istransmitted across a diameter thereof.

Where a Wheeled mounting is employed may be convenient to arrange it inthe form of two or more bogies, each bogie comprising a frame connectedto the side of the curtain and carrying at least two main wheelsarranged in tandem with their axes horizontal, which axes are trans- 3verse to the general direction of flow through the channel, and at leastone auxiliary wheel arranged with its axis horizontal and transverse tothe axes of the main wheels. A simple form of bogie has two mainwheelsand a single auxiliary wheel lying equidistantly from the axes of themain wheels.

Terms such as horizontal, parallel, and transverse used herein areintended to be interpreted in a general sense rather than strictlygeometrically. For example, if the guides are slightly forwardly orbackwardly inclined to the vertical it will be desirable also to inclinethe axes of the auxiliary wheels to the horizontal so that they run inthe direction of the guides.

A bogie with only three wheels makes a three point contact with theguides, which avoids the necessity for extreme accuracy in manufacture.To the same end, the connection between the curtain and a bogie may be apin or similar nonrigid joint, which maybe equidistant from the axes ofthe main wheels. Some form of stop is preferably incorporated so as tolimit the permissible pivotal movement of the bogie with respect to theside part of the curtain. If the side of the curtain is connected toonly two bogies, one bogie is preferably mounted at or below the levelof the centre of pressure on the curtain at normal high water level, andthe other bogie is arranged higher up on the curtain. More than twobogies at each side may be provided if desired, and more than two mainwheels and one auxiliary wheel may also be provided on each bogie.

As an alternative to the bogie type the mounting may comprise one ormore members or frames secured to the side of the curtain, which mayextend over substantially the full depth of the curtain, main andauxiliary wheels being carried by the frame or frames and being spacedapart'at intervals. The intervals may be selected as desired, and neednot necessarily be uniform; for example it may be preferred to space thewheels more closely near the lower part of the curtain.

As a further alternative the main wheels may be replaced by a rollertrack or rail, the adjacent part of the guide being similarly formed,and a row of rollers being provided between the mounting and the guide.The auxiliary Wheels may remain unchanged or may be replaced by rollertracks and rollers, or by sliding surfaces.

A desirable feature of the invention concerns a stanching plate whichserves to reduce leakage past the side of the curtain and which may beadapted to close the opening in the guide when the curtain is raised.The stanching plate may be secured by one edge to and extend from theupstream side of the guide opening, the opposite edge of the stanchingplate being adapted to make contact with the upstream surface of thecurtain or a member attached thereto when the curtain is lowered.Preferably the stanching plate has a degree of resilience so that whenthe curtain is raised the stanching plate makes contact with the pier orwith the guide at the downstream side of the opening, and closes thisopening. The upper part of the downstream edge of the stanching platemay be formed to provide a lead for the entry of the curtain between thevarious ways, but one general form of sluice gate embodying theinvention, with various alternative forms of guides and mountings, willbe described by way of example with reference to the accompanyingdrawings, in which Figure 1 is a diagrammatic plan of the sluice gateand piers.

Figure 2 is a diagrammatic sectional side elevation, taken on the linell- -H in Figure 1.,

Figure 3 is a horizontal cross-section, and

Figure 4 is an elevation of a form of guide and mounting using mainrollers and auxiliary wheels.

Figure 5 is a horizontal 'cress-s'ection, and

Figure 6 is an elevation of a form of guide and mounting using mainwheels and auxiliary wheels.

' Figure 7 is a horizontal cross-section, and

- Figure 8 is an elevation of a form of guide and bogie mounting usingmain Wheels and auxiliary wheels.

Figure 9 is a horizontal cross-section of a form of guide and mountingusing main rollers and an auxiliary sliding surface.

In the various figures, parts which are generally equivalent have beengiven the same reference letters, even though they may not be identicalwith one another.

The curtain ii) of the sluice gate shown in Figures 1 and 2 is built upfrom relatively thin plates and lies on a substantially semi-circularare between the piers ll and 22 with its convex surface downstream; thecurtain l0 may be likened to half a vertical cylindrical boiler shell ortank. The sides I3 and Hi of the curtain lie vertically adjacent toguide grooves 15 and It in the piers, in planes parallel to thedirection of flow through'the channel, indicated by the arrow 11. Theextreme edges of the sides of the curtain are in some cases reinforcedby vertical plates l8 (Figures'5 and 7). The bottom edge of the curtainis adapted to rest on a suitable semicircular sill {9 (Figure 2), andstanching means, for example an adjustable rubber strip 20 is providedaround this bottom edge.

The curtain may be raised and lowered in any convenient manner, forinstance by cables or by racks and pinions. The raising and loweringdevices are preferably attached to the upper edge of the curtaindirectly above the centre of gravity of the curtain and its apendages asindicated at 39 in Figure 2.

The sides 13 and Id of the curtain l0 may be supported in the guidegrooves 15 and it respectively in several different ways. One form ofmounting is shown in Figures 3 and 4. These figures show only the sideit of the curtain, supported by the pier |2, but it will be understoodthat the other side I3 will be supported by the pier II in a similarmanner.

The side 14 of the curtain is secured to a frame member 2! which extendsfor the full depth of v the curtain ii]. The frame 2! carries a straightrollers 23 which in turn bear against a guide stanching plate and thepier or guide when the curtain is lowered from its raised position,should it lie clear of the stanching plate in this raised position.

The invention may be carried into eiiect in rail 24 secured tothedownstream wall of the groove IS in the pier. The line of thrust throughthe rollers 23' is indicated by the line 25 (see also in Figure 1),which diverges from the direction of flow indicated by the arrow I1, andfrom the side I4 of the curtain, by an angle of about 15. The mainthrust due to the pressure of the water retained by the curtain is thustaken through the frame 2|, the roller track 22, the rollers 23 and theguide rail 24, and is directed towards the interior of the pier. Owingto the oflset of the roller track 22 from the side ll of the curtain, aturning moment will be exerted "on the frame 21 in an anticlockwisedirection as shown in Figure This turning moment is resisted byproviding auxiliary wheels 26 on the name 2| substantially perpendicularto the plane of the rollers 23, bearing against an L-shaped guide member2? secured to the upstream edge to! the groove It. The guide member 21carries a lip 28 projecting into the masonry of the pier 12 to assist inholding it in position. 7

The lines of action of the forces exertedby the curtain Hi, the rollertrack 22 land the auxiliary wheel 28 all intersect at. the point 28,, sothat there will be no heavy side thrusts on theauxillary wheels 23 andon the rollers 23.

In order to prevent undue play between the mounting and the guides whenthe thrust "on the curtain is relieved, for instance when the'eurtain isin the raised position, pads 30 are provided which limit the movement ofthe assembly in the upstream direction. When the curtain is lowered andis retaining water, the pads!!! will lie slightly clear of the guidemember 21.

The guide member '21 carries an extension extending in the downstreamdirection. Thus "the guide groove it is closed except for 'arelativelynarrow opening bounded by the extension 3'! and by the outer edge of theguide rail 24. l-he side M of the curtain passes through this openingclose to the outer edge of the guide rail 24. In order to preventleakage of water through the opening and past the side I4 of thecurtain, and to present a smooth surface to the flow of water when thecurtain is raised, a stanching plate 32, which is slightly springy, issecured by its upstream edge to the extension 3|. This stanching plateextends across the opening in the guide groove and makes contact at itsdownstream edge with the upstream surface of thecurtain approximatelyopposite to the outer edge of the guide rail 24. The curtain hasvertical reinforcing v plates 33 arranged along the line of contact withV curtain when the latter is lowered. The downstream edge of the"stanching plate may b'eprovided with a rubber or similar sealing stripif desired.

It is believed that a stanching plate arranged in this manner willpermit asmootlie'r fio'w of water through the channel than would be theease with a guide having a wide opening facing across the channel, andthat in additionfthe tendency for eddies to form and for silt and thelike to accumulate in the guide will be reduced.

The stanohing plate need not extend much higher than the normal highwater i-level, and if the curtain is to be raised above this level theupper part of the downstreamedge of the stanching plate may be formed toprovide a -leadfor the curtain when it is lowered so that-1t can readilypass between the stanching plate and the pier or guide.

Another form of mounting for the curtain is shown in Figures 5 and 6. Inthis case the rollers 23 are replaced by a row of main wheels 34.. whichare mounted on axles carried by the frame 2!, and the side of thecurtain I4 is reinforced by a vertical plate l8 where it joins the:frame 2|, but otherwise the arrangement is similar to that shown inFigures 3 and 4. p

A further form of mounting, using wheeled bogies is shown in Figures 7and 8.

Two bogies are provided at each side of the curtain, one at or slightlybelow the level of the centre of pressure on the curtain at normal highwater level, and the other near 'to the upper part of the curtain.

.As shown in the drawing, each bogie comprises a bogie frame 35supporting at its ends two main wheels 34 arranged in tandem. Inelevation the frame is of shallow triangular form. the axles of the mainwheels 34 lying at the bottomcorners of the triangle. At the apex of thetriangle is mounted an auxiliary wheel 26 which is transverse to theplane containing the main wheels 34,, the axis of the auxiliary wheellying in this plane. On one side of the frame and extending there. fromat a convenient angle (say 15) is: alug .or yoke 36 by which the bogieis connected to the side M of the curtain. a in 31 passing: throughholes formed in the yoke and through the reinforcement 18 of the side ofthe curtain. Alternatively the bcgies may be fastened to lugs at tachedto the side of the curtain. Stops (not shown) are provided to limit thepivotal movement o1v the bogies in relation to the side of the curtain.I In another form of mounting shown in Figure 9. the main thrust of theframe 2| is taken by rollers 23 as in the construction shown in Figures3 and 4, but the auxiliary wheels 26 are replaced by a sliding surface38 formed on the frame 2|. This sliding surface co-operates with asimilar sliding surface on the guide member 21. This construction isintended for use only with small gates and low heads of water, where theforces involved are small. It will be understood that in any case theforce to be taken by the auxiliary wheel 26 or the slidin surface 38will be considerably less than that taken by the rollers 23 or the mainwheels 34.

In the construction shown in Figure 9 a degree of self-stanching isobtainable, enabling the extension 3| of guide member 21 and thestench-- ing plate 32 to be dispensed with if desired. Thisself-stanching occurs in this way. The thrust-due to the pressure of thewater on the concave surface of the curtain it downstream of the rollers23 exerts a turning moment about the line of contact betwen the rollersand the guide rail 24 which tends to force the sliding surface 38 intofirm contact with the guide member 21. There is an opposing turningmoment due to the pressure of water on the side M of the curtainupstream of the rollers 23, but owing to the relatively small area ofthis part the opposing moment will not balance the stanching pressure,provided that the line of contact between the rollers 23 and the guiderail 24 is offset by a. reasonable distance from the side M of thecurtain.

It will be appreciated that many modifications may be made to theconstructions described without departing from the invention. Thus forinstance eachside of the curtain may besunported between two parallelrows of Wheels or rollers lying in a guide groove, the outer row runningon a guide rail mounted on the downstream side of groove in the pier,while the inner row runs on an overhung guide rail extending from theupstream side of the groove. Again, the auxiliary wheel need not be atright angles to the main wheels or rollers. Thus if the main wheels orrollers are inclined by 15 to the direction of flow it may be convenientto arrange the auxiliary wheel at right angles to the direction of flow,that is at an angle of about 105 with respect to the plane of the mainwheels or rollers.

As an alternative to the limiting pads 36 shown in Figures 3-6,additional limiting wheels or rollers may be provided which are adaptedto engage one of the guides, or one or more of the wheels, rollers, orsliding surfaces may be flanged. Above the normal high water level it isdesirable-that the back of the guide groove should be open, or coveredby a removable closure, to provide -access to the mounting when thecurtain is in-a raised position.

It is preferred that the curtain should be semicylindrical, as in thiscase the tensile loading on the curtain for a given channel width is aminimum, and the thrust is applied to the mountings in a directiongenerally parallel with or slightly diverging from the direction offlow. However, if desired a curtain subtending a smaller angle may beemployed. In this case for a given channel the length of the curtainwill be less than with asemi-cylindrical curtain, but the tensileloading will be greater, and the thrust on the mountings will be in adirection inclined towards the direction of flow. On the other hand itmay be possible in certain instances to provide a curtain which subtendsan angle of rather more than 180, and the present invention does notexclude such an embodiment.

It will be appreciated that by providing suitable stanching means forthe upper edge of the curtain, the invention can be applied to sluicegates of the culvert type.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent-is:

1. A sluice gate comprising two piers bounding a channel, a guide ineach of said piers, a waterretaining curtain in the form of a relativelythin plate which is curved about a vertical axis in the form of part ofa circular cylinder with its convex surface facing downstream extendingacross the channel between the guides, means for moving said curtain upand down to open and close said channel comprising mounting membersattached to each side of said curtain, main supporting means in saidguides located beyond the lateral limits of said curtain and downstreamof said mounting members to support said mounting members againstmovement in a general downstream direction, and ancillary supportingmeans in said guides disposed on the streamward side of said mountingmembers to support said mounting members against movement in a directiontransverse to the general downstream direction.

2. A sluice gate comprising two piers bounding a channel, a guide ineach of said piers, a waterretaining curtain in the form of a relativelythin plate-which is curved about a vertical axis in the form of part ofa circular cylinder with its convexsurf'ace facing downstream extendingacross thechannel between the guides, means for moving said curtain upand down to open and close said channel comprising mounting members"attached to each side of said curtain, main support-' ingmeans for saidmounting members located in said guides beyond the lateral limits ofsaid ourtain, downstream of said mounting members, and disposed in adirection which is divergently inclined from the general direction offlow through thel'cha'nnel by an angle of up to 30 degrees, andancillary supporting means in said guides disposed on the streamwardside of said mounting members tosupport said mounting members againstmovement in a direction transverse to the general downstream direction.

3. A sluice gate as claimed in claim 2, in which the said mainsupporting means and ancillary supporting means are both angularlydisposed in the'guide with respect to the edge of the curtain' wherebythe lines of action of the forces which the mounting member exerts onsaid main supporting means and ancillary supporting means intersect inproximity to the line of action of the force exerted on the mountingmemher by the curtain.

' 4.1'A1sluice gate as claimed in claim 1 in which each-mounting has atleast one sliding-surface extending over the full depth of the curtainbelow normal high water level, adapted to engage a corresponding slidingsurface in the guide to prevent leakage through the guide, said slidingsurfaces being adapted to take part of the load applied to the mounting.

5': A sluice gate as claimed in claim 4, in which the correspondingsliding surfaces of the mounting and the guide transmit a load from themounting to the uide in the direction transverse to the generaldirection of flow through the channel.

6. A sluice gate comprising two piers bounding a channel, a guide ineach of said piers, a waterretaining curtain in the form of a relativelythin platewhich is curved about a vertical axis in the formofpart ofa-circular cylinder with its convex surface iacing downstream extendingacross the channel between the guides, means for moving said curtain upand down to open and close said channel comprising a mounting attachedto each side of said curtain in the form of a wheeled bogie, each bogiecomprising a frame connected to the side of the curtain and carrying atleast two main wheels arranged in tandem with their axes horizontal,which axes are transverse to the general direction of flow through thechannel, and at least one auxiliary wheel arranged with its axishorizontal and transverse to the axes of the main Wheels.

7 ."A sluice gate comprising two piers bounding a channel, a guide ineach of said piers, a waterretaining curtain in the form of a relativelythin plate which is curved about a vertical axis in the form of part ofa circular cylinder with its conyex surface facing downstream extendingacross the channel between th guides, means for moving said curtain upand down to open and close said channel, and a mounting attached to eachsideof said curtain which is in the form of a wheeled. bogie, each bogiecomprising a frame connected to the side of the curtain and carrying atleast two main wheels arranged in tandem with their axes horizontal,which axes are transverse to the general direction of flow through thechannel, and at least one auxiliary wheel arranged-with its axishorizontal and transverse to the axesof the main wheels, there being abogie below the :lev'el of the centre of pressure on the curtain atnormal high water level, and another bogie higher-up on the curtain.

8'. A sluice gate comprising two piers bounding carrying at least twomain Wheels arranged in tandem and spaced apart with their axeshorizontal, which axes are transverse to the general directionof flowthrough the channel, and at least one auxiliary wheel arranged with itsaxis horizontal and transverse to the axes of the main wheels.

9. A sluice gate comprising two piers bounding, a channel, a guidegroove in each of said piers,

a water-retaining curtain in the form of a relatively thin plate whichis curved abouta vertical axis in the form of part of a circularcylinder with its convex surface facing downstream extending across thechannel between the guide grooves, means for moving said curtain up anddown to open and close said channel, mountings attached to each side ofsaid curtain and supported by the guide grooves, and a vertical closuremember for each of said guide grooves, at least below high water level,said closure member cooperating with the guide groove to define achamber which encloses the mounting supported by this guide grooveexcept for a relatively narrow slot facing downstream and through whichthe side of said curtain can pass.

10. A sluice gate comprising two piers bounding a channel, a guide ineach of said piers, a waterretaining curtain in the form of a relativelythin plate which is curved about a vertical axis in the form of part ofa circular cylinder with its convex surface facing downstream extendingacross the channel between the guides, means for moving said curtain upand down to open and close said channel, and mountings attached to eachside of said curtain and supportedby the guides, each of said guidesbeing in the form of a groove in the pier and having an opening throughwhich the side of the curtain can pass, while a stanching plate issecured by one edge to and extends in the downstream direction from theupstream side of the opening in each guide, the opposite edge of thestanching plate being in contact with the upstream surface of thecurtain when the curtain is in its lowered position.

11. A sluice gate as claimed in claim 10, in which the stanching platehas a degree of resilience, so that when the curtain is raised thestanching plate makes contact with the pier at the downstream side ofthe opening in the guide, and closes this opening.

12. A sluice gate as claimed in claim 10, in which the stanching platehas a degree of resilience, so that when the curtain is raised thestanching plate makes contact with the pier at the downstream sideoimthe opening in the guide, and closes this opening, and there is alead at the upper part of the downstream edge of the stanching plate tofacilitate entry of the curtain when it is lowered from a raisedposition in which it lies clear of the stanching plate.

WILLIAM JOHN BOWTELL.

REFERENCES CITED FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date France 1929 Number

